Getting to Know Staten Island's Kyle McAlarney

Craig Raucher

During college, Craig Raucher played intramural volleyball and basketball and helped his teams claim championship titles in 1972 and 1974. In 1980, Craig Raucher founded Staten Island Basketball League, a long-running continuous group of basketball enthusiasts. The league regularly meets at Public School 8 building in Great Kills, Staten Island.

Staten Island has produced a number of international-level professional basketball players, such as Isaiah Wilkerson, who currently plays for BC Nokia in Finland, and Ryan Rossiter, who plays for Link Tochigi Brex in Japan. In France, Staten Island native Kyle McAlarney is making a name for himself in the French Pro A League as a player for Orleans Loiret Basket.

Prior to his professional career, McAlarney played for Notre Dame University as a guard for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He was drafted in 2005 and went on to play until the 2008-2009 season. McAlarney showed promise earlier on as a player for Moore Catholic High School, where he holds the all-time highest score record of 2,556 points.

McAlarney started his international professional career in 2009 with the Israel-based Ironi Nahariya. He went on to play for European leagues, including Greece's Ikaros Kallitheas and France's Limoges Cercle Saint-Pierre, before joining Orleans Loiret Basket in 2013. He has since extended his contract for the 2015-2016 season.